Licensing bureaucracy will drive us to the wall

To avoid all the hassle, as I am quite satisfied with my existing hours, I planned to just submit for grandfather rights.

However, when I spoke to my local council licensing officer I was told that I needed to complete Part B because:

1 Skittles, which has been played here in the West Country for decades, must now be licensed as an indoor sport.

2 My annual special order of exemption, organised by the local Licensed Victuallers Association on an annual basis for extensions of hours over bank holidays, would not be permissable unless I apply for a variation.

3 The New Year extensions would also come to an end so if I want to keep this extension I have to apply for a variation.

So I guess I have no choice but to join this bureaucratic, expensive nightmare.

For 10 years I worked at a senior level for a major multinational company overseas, and I thought I had seen all there is to see of bureaucracy. I was mistaken; this Government has taken it to a new level.

I have owned my pub for the last 10 years, have a house in France and will soon move away to a less stressful environment.

This Government does not have a clue about small business needs, and the amount of red tape has just reached an appaling level.

This view is a very commonly held one and will drive many viable pubs and small businesses to the wall.

Jim Bayfield

White Hart

High Street

Yetminster

Dorset

DT9 6LF

If this is state of councils nationwide, God help us

As the holder of personal licence number six, I think I can safely say we are amongst the quickest applicants in Norfolk. Grandfather rights have been granted on an application submitted in March.

This morning I phoned the 11-member licensing committee team at Long Stratton to enquire on progress, to find: people absent through holiday, sickness and maternity leave; software from central government had not arrived; and no update was available.

I expect my fee of £385 to be a waste of money as the second appointed day in November will be extended and I shall receive no rebate.

If this is the state of councils countrywide, God help you in August when they all go on holiday.

J Longhorn

The Horseshoes

Diss

Norfolk

Misleading to put off-trade promos in same league

Congratulations to the on-trade for having what you rightly describe as the "vision and maturity" to tackle binge drinking by (sort of) banning happy hours.

You ask whether the off-trade will have the maturity to demonstrate a similar commitment to solving this problem, which I take to mean: will supermarkets and off-licences stop price promotions? My advice is, don't hold your breath.

Price fighting is the root of many ills and is not universally popular in the off-trade. Sadly, consumers love it, which is why so many wines are available for £2 less than their nominal retail price and cases of beer are routinely offered for around £10.

But it is misleading to suggest, as many in the on-trade have tried to do, that such promotions are in the same league as some of the more reckless activity we have seen in pubs and clubs.

To get this into perspective, the off-trade will always be able to offer sharper prices than the on-trade because its costs are nowhere near as substantial. It was ever thus, and however uncomfortable this may be for your readerswith their ever-increasing burden of insurance premiums, licensing fees, cleaning costs, wage demands and repair bills for air-conditioning equipment, this is how it will remain. Indeedthe gap may widen, and on this side of the fence we are braced for more hysterical talk of"preloading".

Incidentally, my local supermarket is currently running a very attractive "buy one get one free" offer on tiger prawns. I bought two packs instead of one, but strangely enough I did not eat twice as many prawns as planned that evening. One went in a curry and the other is in the fridge. I believe that those tempted by similar offers on beers, wines and spirits adopt an almost identical policy.

Graham Holter

Editor

OLN ­ the voice of drinks retailing

Why am I denied Foster's Super-Chilled on T-bar?

I was interested to read in a recent edition ofthe Morning Advertiser that £40m will be spent on marketing Foster's Super-Chilled whilstdenying it to many licensees who wish to stock the brand.

I am referring to Scottish Courage's (owners of UK Foster's lager) decision not to allow the brand to be placed onto T-bar dispensers.

I run a riverside pub that sells huge quantities of Foster's in warm weather, and Super-Chilled would help increase my volumes.

Because I have limited bar space I can only fit my keg brands onto a T-bar. Imagine my surprise when attending a passing-out parade at the Royal Marine training centre at Lympstone, I came across Foster's Super-Chilled on a T-bar.

When I contacted the Union Pub Company which owns my pub, they followed up my complaint, only to be told that the military are different!

If Carling and Carlsberg can put their chilled variants on T-bars, why must I suffer?

I wish to maximise revenue from my pub, but the double standards of Foster's is holding me back. Would they like me to switch brands and de-list them?

I made a point of ordering a pint off the T-bar and it was as excellent as it is off its stand-alone font. So stop treating me as a second-class stockist and give me Super-Chilled on myT-bar now.

Tim Hughes

The Angel Inn

Severnside

Stourport-on-Severn

Worcestershire

DY13 9EW